Yeah, so sorry! I just could not figure out a non confusing title for the recipe. It happens when you have killer fusion food (general term for the combination of various forms of cuisine) like this. It’s basically three recipes all wrapped into one, but made better with new additions and flavors. And it’s basically the BEST sandwich ever. EVER.
It has texture, color and so much flavor. Now put all three of those elements together and you have one incredible Vietnamese, Thai and French fusion sandwich. You probably can’t tell (or maybe you can by my forcefulness here?), but my excitement for this sandwich on a scale of 1-10 is probably at about an 18 right now. So much love for this recipe…and um, a lot of it is due to the colors…and that egg. When in doubt, add an egg… never fails. Plus, eggs are sometimes common on Banh Mi sandwiches, so I went with it.
Ok, so here’s the deal, this sandwich was inspired by The Pig and The Lady in Hawaii. They have a sandwich on their menu called the Pho French Dip Banh Mi. Sadly, I have never been to Hawaii, but as I was reading about this sandwich, I knew I had to make my own version. I am sure their sandwich is WAY awesome, and if I ever make it to Hawaii I will be sure to try it, but for now, I am loving this sandwich. While this sandwich may sound complicated, it’s actually pretty simple and easy. It is the perfect mix of winter, spring and summer. It’s semi cozy because of the slow cooked short rips and the piping hot pho broth, but it’s also crazy colorful and fresh, thanks to the chimichurri and all those classic Banh Mi toppings.
See, the perfect mix of everything and perfect for making right this second.
Here’s how this short rib pho french dip banh mi goes down. The short ribs get slow cooked in a simple pho broth – just a handful of ingredients (think beef broth, onion, garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, mushrooms and fish sauce), nothing too fancy except maybe the star anise. If you don’t have star anise, you can find it at Whole Foods and most grocery stores, or I suppose you could leave it out, but I wouldn’t. So once the ribs are cooked, you remove them from the pho broth, strain the broth and then add a few more ingredients and well, that’s pretty much it. You have your juicy short ribs for the sandwich and your pho broth for dipping. Eat it just like you would dip a french dip. Can you say awesome?!? And then there is the Thai Basil Chimichurri. So simple and easy, but it adds so much fresh flavor. I like to make this while the ribs are cooking so it’s all ready to go when the ribs are done, and it doesn’t take longer than ten minutes to make.
ASSEMBLY. You must have a delicious french baguette, swiss cheese (YES), pickled veggies, mung bean sprouts (or just sprouts), fried eggs (a big must for me) and limes. Oh, and of course the chimichurri and pho broth. Then you’re good to go.
The sandwiches take a little trip into the oven to melt the cheese. Then just add the fresh toppings, top it all off with the fried egg, break that egg yolk, put the bun back on and start dipping that crusty sandwich in the amazing slow cooked steaming pho broth. <– It’s really good and it’ll also warm you right up. Wow, I’m getting excited just sitting here typing about it. It’s that good.
But really, I just have to say that dipping these sandwiches into pho broth is DELICIOUS. Like if you thought a french dip was good wait until you try these. These are better. So much better.
So much deliciousness right there, I cannot even stand it!